The sound of thought: Form matters–The prosody of inner speech

Abstract

This paper offers a new perspective on inner speech based on the theoretical framework of embodiment, focusing on the embodiment of structure rather than content. We argue that inner speech is used to simulate the acoustic aspects of overt speech including prosody. Prosody refers to the rhythm, intonation, and stress of spoken language, which is closely related to structural aspects of phrases, sentences, and larger language contexts such as discourse and narrative. We propose that inner speech gives form and structure to thought, and that this form is a necessary component of mental life. Thus, our paper opens with a review of the varieties of inner speech, followed by evidence concerning the form of inner speech, and finally, we discuss the functionality of inner speech. We consider cognitive and socio-emotional functions in which inner speech is involved and posit that inner speech serves as a simulation that maintains form and that this form serves different aspects of thought – attention, memory, emotion and self- regulation, social conceptualization, and narrative of self. In concluding, we address future research asking how inner speech contributes to making mental processes accessible to conscious thought, and whether accessibility to consciousness is related to form and structure.